The invention relates generally to monitoring usage of a utility such as electricity, gas or water, and more particularly to a method and system for continuously signaling the usage of a utility for a consumer relative to a budgeted or peak amount entered by a consumer.
Energy monitors are known in the art. Typically, energy consumption is displayed numerically as a monetary denomination, in units of energy or in units of the commodity (e.g., gas or electricity) being consumed. However, numerical display energy monitors present a variety of drawbacks. For example, the user cannot read a numerical display from a distance or over a broad range of viewing angles. Accordingly, a numerical display requires the user to be closely positioned in front of the display to read utility usage values. This means that the user must take the time to get positioned close enough to read the display. Even when the user is close to a numerical display, a significant portion of the population must then take the time to put on their reading glasses in order to view a numerical display. Further, since a numerical display lacks the visual capability to alarm or signal a user over to the display, the user must take the time to repeatedly approach the display to check usage information. If the user does not take the time to approach the display, it may be to late to adjust consumption to stay within a budget. Due to the lack of signaling capability, the user may not be motivated to take the time or even remember to view a numerical display monitor at all. Further, to be effective, at least two displays are generally required, i.e., one displaying actual use and one displaying the target or budgeted use level, in order to provide the user with over/under budget information. Still further, the numeric display may not be understandable to the youngest members of a household who very often can be the worst offenders in terms of wasting energy.
Some energy monitors include an alarm that sounds when energy consumption exceeds some preset budget level. However, alarm-type energy monitors also present a variety of drawbacks. For example, alarm sounding could occur at any time of day or night and thereby become an annoyance and/or an embarrassment. This could lead the user to either disconnect the alarm or set a high budget level which, of course, defeats the whole purpose of the alarm. Further, since the alarm typically sounds when energy consumption has reached or passed a budget level, the user is not provided with a warning to reduce energy consumption before the alarm sounds.
A power meter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,811,966 includes the use of colored LED""s to indicate whether an appliance plugged into the power meter is a high or low power consumption device. Specifically, one color is used to indicate a high energy consumption device and a second color is used to indicate a low energy consumption device. However, the power meter does not provide any indication of a consumer""s usage of a utility relative to a user-selected budgeted or peak amount.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for signaling utility usage.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and system that provides a continuous signal indicative of utility""s usage.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method and system that continuously indicates utility""s usage relative to a threshold level of usage.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method and system that continuously indicates a utility""s usage in a simple manner.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and system in which a signal indicative of utility usage can be viewed from a distance, can be viewed from a broad range of viewing angles, and can be understood while one is moving.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.
In accordance with the present invention, a method and system are provided to continuously signal a utility""s usage at a location where a commodity indicative of the utility is provided via a supply line. A first device is coupled to the supply line to measure usage of the commodity and provide a first value indicative of the usage. A second device is provided to allow a user to input a second value indicative is a threshold level of usage of the commodity. A processor, coupled to the first and second devices, generates a status value based on the first and second values. A reconfigurable display is coupled to the processor. The display can illuminate at least one indicator of a first color and at least one indicator of a second color. At any given time, at least one of the indicators is viewable based on the status value. For example, three colored indicators (e.g., red, yellow and green) can be arranged to resemble a traffic signal where green is indicative of an acceptable level of utility usage, yellow is indicative of utility usage that is bordering on excessive, and red is indicative of excessive utility usage.